Guide
No-exam life insurance
Eligibility for accelerated underwriting, the underwriting process, and what happens if you don't qualify.
Many insurers now use accelerated underwriting: for applicants in an age and amount range, carriers render decisions on the application, prescription records, driving history and other databases without a paramedical exam. Decisions can arrive within a day. Each quote on this site indicates whether an exam is required, optional, or waived.
What it changes
No exam does not mean no underwriting review. Your answers get checked, and a policy issued on false information can be voided in the first two years. If underwriting data raises red flags, the carrier may require an exam or blood work; you decide whether to move forward.
Who tends to qualify
Usually those under age sixty seeking coverage up to the carrier's fast-track limit, with a clean health history and no tobacco use within the past year. Some carriers also accept lab results from a recent doctor's visit instead of a new exam.
If the carrier requires an exam, it typically means a 20–30 minute appointment at your home or workplace with a paramedic, performed at no expense to you. For healthy applicants, exam results frequently result in an improved rate tier, so it is not always disadvantageous.